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Screwball comedy meets film noir in the lighthearted movie WATCHING THE DETECTIVES. Cillian Murphy forgoes the menace of past roles in RED EYE and BATMAN BEGINS to play film buff Neil. He’s so busy watching and quoting movies that life is passing him by. Enter Violet (Lucy Liu, KILL BILL VOL. 1), a free-spirited beauty who doesn’t even own a TV. Opposites (inevitably) attract, and soon Neil’s life is thrown into fun-filled chaos. Violet believes in living life, not watching others do so, and her energetic approach has an effect on Neil.

First-time director Paul Soter (of Broken Lizard comedy troupe fame) helms this film that’s a love letter to cinema’s past. Violet is a modern-day femme fatale to Neil’s naïve sap. His movie geek status gives the film license to reference everything from the strange (TOXIC AVENGER IV: CITIZEN TOXIE) to the classic (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID). Despite its good intentions, insider references, and strong cast, WATCHING THE DETECTIVES can’t quite reach the heights of the essential films it puts on a pedestal. But with its lighthearted feel, it’s not really about that. The best moments in WATCHING THE DETECTIVES come when Neil indulges the cinephile within, especially when he’s joined by partners-in-crime played by Jason Sudeikis and Michael Panes. (1 hr. 33 min.)

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